Chinese navy’s amphibious capabilities continue to grow

Andrew Tate, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly

23 January 2018

China's latest 20,000-tonne Yuzhao-class (Type 071) landing platform dock (LPD) vessel was launched on 20 January at the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai. It is the sixth ship of the class and joins the previous vessel, which was launched in June 2017, fitting out alongside. All ships of the class have been built at the Hudong-Zhonghua yard.

The first Type 071 entered service with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in late 2007 and was joined by two others in 2011 and 2012. These first three ships are all based in the South Sea Fleet base in Zhanjiang, which is also close to the PLAN’s marine corps’ base.

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